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Diabetes care in humanitarian settings | Collections | MSF Science Portal

Diabetes affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide, a large majority of them living in low- and middle-income countries. Yet finding effective strategies, tools and policies for effectively managing this chronic illness—especially amid war, displacement or exclusion from care—is a neglected area of humanitarian medicine.

Here we present a cross-section of work on this front by MSF and collaborators. Several studies assess the shift towards community-based, nurse-led models of care in rural settings. Others explore obstacles to diabetes care for war refugees living in camps in Jordan or Lebanon, highlighting how health programs can adapt to their needs. The demonstration that insulin retains potency for 30 days if cooled without refrigeration is opening doors to more patient self-management, as a case study in remote South Sudan shows.

At the same time, MSF and others call for regulatory and financing policies that make diabetes medications and supplies cheaper, better adapted to humanitarian settings, and far more available to patients whose lives depend on them.

Collection Content

Journal Article
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Research

Estimated sustainable cost-based prices for diabetes medicines

Barber MJ, Gotham D, Bygrave H, Cepuch C
2024-03-27 • JAMA Network Open
2024-03-27 • JAMA Network Open
IMPORTANCE
The burden of diabetes is growing worldwide. The costs associated with diabetes put substantial pressure on patients and health budgets, especially in low- and middle-inco...
Conference Material
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Poster

Evaluating task-sharing for non-communicable disease management in humanitarian settings: lessons learned from MSF’s model of care in Lebanon

Doumit M, Masri S, Beltran I, Incerti A, Ciglenecki I,  et al.
2023-06-07 • MSF Scientific Day International 2023
2023-06-07 • MSF Scientific Day International 2023
Journal Article
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Commentary

A framework for improving diabetes care in humanitarian emergencies

Kehlenbrink S, Jobanputra K, International Alliance for Diabetes Action
2023-03-01 • Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology
2023-03-01 • Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology
Conference Material
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Poster

Recurrent DKA reduced by home glucose monitoring and clay pot insulin storage in a low resource setting - a case report

Simon M, Seignoux J, Fadumiyo A, Muderhwa Y
2022-11-30 • MSF Paediatric Days 2022
2022-11-30 • MSF Paediatric Days 2022
Conference Material
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Poster

Decentralization of insulin treatment through nurses and clinical officers in nine health centres in a rural county, Kenya: descriptive study

Borum Mølskov Bech M, Otieno Khisa A, Ndoca K, Ayuaya T, Kajuju P,  et al.
2022-05-09 • MSF Scientific Days International 2022
2022-05-09 • MSF Scientific Days International 2022
Journal Article
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Letter

Diabetes and the WHO model list of essential medicines

Reddy A
2022-01-01 • Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology
2022-01-01 • Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology
Journal Article
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Research

MSF experiences of providing multidisciplinary primary level NCD care for Syrian refugees and the host population in Jordan: an implementation study guided by the RE-AIM framework

Ansbro É, Homan T, Qasem J, Bil K, Tarawneh M,  et al.
2021-04-26 • BMC Health Services Research
2021-04-26 • BMC Health Services Research
BACKGROUND
In response to the rising global NCD burden, humanitarian actors have rapidly scaled-up NCD services in crisis-affected low-and-middle income countries. Using the RE-AIM i...
Journal Article
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Review

Operational considerations for the management of non-communicable diseases in humanitarian emergencies

Bausch FJ, Beran D, Hering H, Boulle P, Chappuis F,  et al.
2021-02-25 • Conflict and Health
2021-02-25 • Conflict and Health
Non-communicable diseases (NCD) represent an increasing global challenge with the majority of mortality occurring in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Concurrently, many humanita...
Journal Article
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Research

Heat-stability study of various insulin types in tropical temperature conditions: new insights towards improving diabetes care

Kaufmann B, Boulle P, Berthou F, Fournier M, Beran D,  et al.
2021-02-03 • PLOS One
2021-02-03 • PLOS One
Strict storage recommendations for insulin are difficult to follow in hot tropical regions and even more challenging in conflict and humanitarian emergency settings, adding an extra burd...
Journal Article
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Research

Setting up a nurse-led model of care for management of hypertension and diabetes mellitus in a high HIV prevalence context in rural Zimbabwe: a descriptive study

Frieden M, Zamba B, Mukumbi N, Mafaune PT, Makumbe B,  et al.
2020-06-01 • BMC Health Services Research
2020-06-01 • BMC Health Services Research
BACKGROUND
In the light of the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) on health systems in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, contex...

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World Hepatitis Day 2024

World Hepatitis Day 2024

Viral hepatitis is a significant cause of disease and death globally. Yet powerful new medical tools to combat hepatitis C and E still reach only a tiny fraction of people who desperately need them, especially in low-resource and emergency settings.


To mark World Hepatitis Day (July 28th) we highlight recent MSF research on making these breakthrough products more widely accessible and simpler to use.


For hepatitis C, where groundbreaking antiviral drugs can cure nearly all patients, MSF is developing comprehensive, community-based models of care that offer rapid screening, diagnosis, and treatment under one roof. In some settings programs focus on the specific needs of highly vulnerable populations, such as people living in remote areas, forcibly displaced refugees, or those co-infected with HIV or TB or who inject drugs.


Turning to prevention, MSF is exploring ways to use the Hepatitis E vaccine more effectively in areas where poor sanitation and water quality regularly lead to outbreaks. Studies in a South Sudanese camp for internally displaced people are strengthening evidence for the vaccine’s feasibility, efficacy, safety and community acceptance, especially for pregnant women and their fetuses. Another report analyzes strategies for overcoming barriers to widespread vaccine adoption.

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Diabetes care in humanitarian settings

Diabetes care in humanitarian settings